and we begin tonight with breaking news. this has been going on since 4:00 this afternoon. a bus plunks from -- lunged from the sky ramp. one person is dead and others were trapped inside. they had to be extricated and eight others had to go to the hospital. we have team coverage on this accident tonight. gary nuremburg and anita brick han have been at the scene. anita, have they been able to find out what went down. >> reporter: well right now, i want to show you what is happening now.

three hours after the scene. a very active investigation. you can see a state hospital landed moments ago to drop off accident investigators and the ntsb is going to get involved to find out what happened. and again that bus -- you can take a look at video shot earlier, and we do understand fire and ems crews are still trying to extricate the body of the person killed if the bus crash. when the tour bus from a pennsylvania-based company careened off the sky h.o.v. ramp of 5-270 north and landed on the eye 270 spur below, we talked with a montgomery county fire chief moments ago about what played out during the crash. >> the bus itself traveled approximately 45 feet down an embankment, the investigation will reveal whether it rolled or not, we don't have that information at this time and that would be speculation.

we treated a total of 12 patients on the scene. there were two priority one, which were critical, life- threatening injuries, two tar were priority two, critical nonlife-threatening injuries and eight priority three patients which received treatment and transport to the hospital. >> reporter: again, as you can see, down the way there, where the lights are all set up, the bus is still in place. they will not confirm for us whether, in fact, that deceased individual may be the driver. only that it is an adult. and they are trying to reach out to family members and notify them before they make it public. i also understand accident investigators are trying to place exactly where each person was sitting to understand what happened and the em -- impact of the crash. there were adults and children on the tour bus, parents and children, but we don't know if some of the injured are among children. and there are still hospitals flying above and they are trying to get last-minute pictures of the crash scene.

but investigators tell us they will be out here for hours tonight but will give us an update on more details involving the fatality and what they think happened on that bus once they are able to notify next of kin. reporting live from i-270, anita brikman, back to you. >> anita, thank you for that. and that accident has created a virtual nightmare situation for anybody who tried to get home west of town tonight, up 270 or perhaps any other place in bethesda or rockville. gary nuremburg is north of the accident on interstate 270 and gary, has the road cleared up at all? >> reporter: well derek, let's assess the scene. we are a couple of yards south of where the accident took place. the state highway truck is blocking the fly-over ramp, the ramp on which the bus was traveling before it left the road. the fly-over ramp used for h.o.v. traffic at rush hour is now closed as a result, and everyone is forced into the main line of i-270. you can see the cars a bit

elevated, that's rock ledge drive as people are trying to deal with the beltway closed in terms of coming north on 270 making alternate routes and coming down rock ledge to join the traffic. it has been hellacious for drivers here. this is how it was explained by a police officer on the scene. we are on the fly-over ramp, that the bus was traveling on just before it left the road. as you walk up or drive up this fly-over ramp, to the left there is a guard rail similar to those that you see along many roads. guard rail, if we can come over this way, it looks exactly like this. this one is rusted but it seems to be pretty firm. i'll ask our photographer to do something difficult and watch very closely, follow where that car is backing up with the emergency lights on and you can see where the guard rail ends and the first bridge abutment begins. it is at that point that the bus left the fly i over ramp through the guard rail similar

to the one we showed you here, clipped the beginning of the bridge abutment and then fell approximately 45 feet to where anita was reporting a few minutes ago. the fly-over lane remains closed as police do their investigation. traffic is hellacious. if you can avoid it, please do as derek and anita said, this will be tied up for hours. >> that explanation is best we've had for the entire evening. we appreciate that. for those still trying to figure out how to get home or tell their loved ones to get home. patranya is in the traffic center with ideas how to get around the backup. first of all, at least 270 is open again, right, patranya. >> not where the accident happened. so let's tell folks where the closures are as of this hour. right now it's between 270 northbound, between the inner loop and democracy. that is the stretch that is still closed because of this is where the investigators are on the scene. so all northbound lanes are

still closed moving up toward maryland. southbound lane i understand only one lane is blocked. so southbound traffic right by that crash scene moving south but very slowly. mind you it will be a slow ride home. and below the crash scene, the red cars here, meaning everybody is going way below speed starting at gallows. so let as move to the live picture on m-dot this is on the left side of the screen, the traffic is on the inner loop, over the american legion toward the spur where all northbound lanes are still shut down between inner loop and democracy because of that crash. so right now traffic is going to come to a stand-still north of this area. so we're still telling folks the reminder to stay away from the west side of the beltway because as you can see, it's still very backed up and still long delays. so now some of the alternate routes, let's get there real quick. this is 355 rockville pike, a little blurry, but you can see it's jammed up. this is one of the alternate route we've been telling folks all noon to get on to to get

north. 355 take old georgetown and connecticut and georgia and all of the arteries up to randolph which cuts over to montrose. so that still stands but avoid the west side of the beltway because of the crash. derek, back to you. >> thank you, patranya. and the other big storey, the bad weather on the way. we have a storm alert. heavy ran on tap. the national weather service has issued a flood watch as the recommend fants of tropical storm nicole is coming our way. troper is tracking this one. and the heavy stuff around midnight or so? >> we had light rain earlier but now we're in a lull. let's start with the flood watch. covering the entire metro area. does not cover folks in garret county or western allegany county but you will still get rain there. but it covers everybody else until 9:00 tomorrow. here is a satellite picture, radar combined, here is the first batch and it tried up but

there is meanty of moisture down -- plenty of moisture down to the south. log on to our website and we're looking at flood pictures before and after and road closures and rainfall amounts if you have a rainfall gage. e-mail us pect eyes at photos -- pictures at photos at wusa9.com and post them on our facebook or hash tag if you want to send us a tweet. for tonight flash flood watch in effect. rain and thunderstorms becoming heavy after midnight. low temperatures between 60 and 65, winds southeasterly at 10 to 15. hopefully everybody heeded our advice yesterday and cleaned their gutters and did their down spouts. we'll come back and talk about high tide and when we begin to dry out. back to you. well also tonight in your only local news at 7:00, the calm before the storm. cities and counties in our area already planning for what topper described as some

possible severe flooding. i'm bruce leshan in the bellevue neighborhood near alexandria where they have seen more than their fair share of flooding and they are keeping a very weary eye on tropical storm nicole. good idea just to go out of your house and check things out, make sure everything is ship-shape. if you have a drain in your yard, this is a man hole, but if it's a drain you want to clear it off and make sure there is no dirt to clog the water out. good idea to come and look at your gutters and your down spouts as well. it's getting late but you may want to make sure they are not clogged with leaves. and if you have patio furniture or anything like that, we're expecting some wind and so folks around here are making sure that this kind of stuff is secure too. i'm scott broom in annapolis where heavy rain is on the way and standing if the way is an old dam that state inspectors say is unsafe. >> this is one of the worst dams. i believe it's 270 feet from

end to end. >> reporter: annapolis city spokesman phil mcgowan gave me a tour of the water works dam, suffering from eroding foundations and gaping cracks. but in the meantime, flood watches have gone up. >> we're taking a number of precautions. i think the first that we've lowered the level of the dam to 5.5 feet below the top. there is no imminent threat of a major break down. >> reporter: a failure of the 12-foot dam would release the reservoir down a small stream valley crossing route 450, about 4.5 miles from downtown -- annapolis. and one man lost his life after an early morning fire in column because heights. flames ripped through the 5th floor of an eight story building. delia gonsalves tells us investigators say the fire was not an accident. >> reporter: the early morning fire that september more than 100 residents rushing out of the apartment building in

complete panic may have been set by one of their own neighbors. >> most likely this fire will not be accidental. we're aware there was some type of domestic dispute going on in the building. that will be explored, questions will be asked and answered. we're not ready to provide that information yet. >> he told -- i don't want to die. >> reporter: speaking through an interpreter, rolando perez recalls the moments with the raging fire outside of his fifth floor apartment, he and his uncle chose to escape through the window using a telephone cord to climb down and then jumping on to this tree. a broken window frame still stuck in the branches. but his uncle missed that tree and fell on an iron fence below. pablo perez later died. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> reporter: lester palma said his wife and son are traumatized after their escape

through a smoke-filled stairwell. he said he never heard the fire alarm, only the blood curdling screams of his neighbors. >> i came out, i turned around and i've seen the little kids, the little heads coming out of the windows. firefighters raised atlantaers to -- raised latters and they believe it started in a common area on the 5th floor where residents say there was a pile of discarded furniture. >> reporter: and residents have gathered outside waiting to get back into their homes. power has been restored to the building. of course the folks who live on the 5th floor where the fire started remain homeless tonight. four people are in critical condition, including a 2-year- old girl and we're told that 2- year-old was recently flown to boston's trier hospital and is getting treated there in the burn unit. delia gonsalves, 9 news now. and still to come, nursing home abuse caught on tape. now two employees have been

convicted and dozens more indicted. details of what happened are just ahead into but first the president hits the road to push the economic plan, what he had to say to voters in richmond this afternoon.

president barack obama once again out on the road, touting his plan to cut the deficit and spark some jobs. this afternoon he headed down to richmond to speak to about 100 people at a community center. he talked about a wide range of things from education to the economy. the speech in richmond was the last stop in a three-state swing hoping push that economic plan. former president jimmy carter will have to spend another night in a cleveland hospital after having an upset stomach yesterday. his doctors recommended he stay that extra night for additional monitoring. carter had been scheduled to be here in d.c. today as part of his book tour, but he had to cancel. his son said the former

president is resting comfortable and no one in the family is worried about him. and coming up, how much rain is on the way. topper is ahead with the forecast. nursing home abuse caught on tape. i'm peggy fox in arlington county. how a widow hopes her case improves conditions at nursing homes everywhere.

nearly a dozen employees at an arlington nursing home have been indicted and two of them convicted in one of the largest

home abuse cases in virginia history. and as peggy fox tells us, the most serious charge involved a nurse accused of holding a pillow over an elderly man's face. >> my husband's diaper, the time that it was changed, i would come in there 12 hours later and it was saturated and never been changed. >> reporter: mary kay evans said she complained constantly about the care her husband jack received at potomac nursing center in arlington. >> his dentures were never removed from his mouth and cleaned. his fingernails and toe nails were long. his body was dirty. his hair was never shampooed and unshaved. >> reporter: his widow would still find his lunch still uncovered and untouched in the evening. >> nobody would feed him and he couldn't feed himself. it was just dropped off there. sometimes there would be roaches in the tray. >> reporter: the medicare

virginia state fraud office asked if she would allow the fbi to put a camera in her husband's room and she said yes. with the evidence on the video, they were able to indict 11 employees on charges ranging from neglect and forgery to assault and battery. the worst case involves a male nurse who is accused of and apparently caught on tape holding a pillow over mr. evan's' face. the nurse charged in the pillow incident is 30-year-old john diaz. his trial is coming up next month. this woman, a nurse's aid, has already been convicted of assault. she's seen in a video laughing while she throws popcorn as mr. evans as he tries to bat it away. evans has filed a $10 million lawsuit against potomac center and the holding company genesis health care and 35 other defendants. his attorney said these problems are rampant in for- profit nursing homes. >> this is not one person, a

rogue employee, this is the whole -- virtually the whole medical staff there. >> reporter: potomac said the resident in question received appropriate care during his stay and denies he was neglected at any time. potomac also said it is committed to providing quality care and will continue to cooperate with the government's investigation. in arlington, peggy fox, 9 news now. >> potomac also said the two employees accused of assault have been terminated and the others charged with forgery and neglect have been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of trials. a rash of home and car break-ins have fairfax county cops looking for a serial burglar. more than 70 incidents have been reported in reston, fair oaks, mclean and sully and residents were home sleeping and the crooks went off cash. the most recent happened today in the oak ton area. >> it's scary which means their desperate or very brazen and

they know what they are doing. >> now police don't know if there is one or perhaps even more people committing these crimes. fair oaks police station is holding a community meeting tonight at 7:30 at the waffle mills elementary school. that's scary, but this weather is scary. >> it is. and again, we're having a lull now. don't let it fool you. because it's coming. >> don't look the cool phase fool you. >> it will. for tonight, flash flood watch going into effect. rain and thunderstorms, heavy after midnight. low temperatures between 60 and 65. you still have a little bit of time to check your storm drains, flashlights and battery. winds pick up east southeasterly at 10:15 and occurring after midnight. so flood watch, we say this all of the time, say it again, never cross a flooded street, check your subpump and batteries and flashlight. tomorrow morning we'll be in

the throw of it. flash flood watch and heavy rain and thunderstorms, flooding is likely. 2-4 inches between 6:00 a.m. and noon on thursday. winds east southeast picking up at 15 to 25 and gusty. temperatures mild though. 60s and 70s. by afternoon, flash flood watch continues. rain and thunderstorms will be tapering off, an additional 1-2 inches possible. high temperatures 75-80. winds turn northwesterly at 10- 15. once they turn northwesterly drier air will move in and that's the signal the worst is over. your thursday break-down. flooding in the morning, 65, 70 by noon, still heavy rain. we'll see some respite, or temperatures in the upper 70s with rain and showers beginning to taper off by 5:00. it's still pretty mild. satellite picture, radar combined, tropical storm nicole is 80 miles south, southwest of miami. it doesn't matter. it's just all of the moisture. it's just a tropical conveyer belt that will produce a tremendous amount of rain from

north carolina all the way up to upstate new york and perhaps as far north as burlington, vermont. look at this rain that is pouring across north carolina right now. we are talking 7-8 inches of rain possible just east of raleigh and in our area talking 2-5 inches before all is said and done of you can see the rain moved in early and then stop and then we have light rain down to the south and that will again get in here in terms of heavy rain after midnight. flooding likely, critical time 3:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. we would love you to send in pictures before and after if you have an area flood prone. take a picture now and then after it begins to flood. check your subpumped and gutters and have a half a tank of gas. and we are concerned about alexandria, old town 1:31 tomorrow. in indian head at 1:00 and in annapolis at 11:10 in the morning, those are the worst case scenarios in terms of the potential for flooding. look at the rainfall amounts. 2.5 inches downtown, 5 inches

in culpeper. and we're looking at 4-inches in easton. 5 inches in cambridge. this is a tremendous amount of moisture. the next seven days. rain and showers tomorrow, heavy through 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. mild and upper 70s. nice on friday. night for football. and much cooler there. the coolest air of the season saturday, sunday and monday. >> and what time tomorrow do you think we'll be done with this? >> i think it will be over in terms of the heavy activity by 3:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon. >> that's not so bad. >> you have to get from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. >> we'll be right back.

four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer

funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do.

that's our property. i'll be back here tonight at 11:00 and we'll have the latest on the bus accident and the weather. we'll see you then. [ electronic humming ]

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